ON October 29, 1918, 22-year-old Gunner Ned Parfett, who had been awarded the Military Medal (MM) and mentioned in dispatches, was collecting clothes before going home on leave. A stray shell hit the quartermaster’s stores and he was killed instantly. His face was famous worldwide as the newsboy carrying the placard about the sinking of RMS Titanic, during which an estimated 1,517 people were lost. However, what was headlined a ‘GREAT LOSS OF LIFE’ in 1912 would pale into relative insignificance in view of what was to come.
On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, there were 57,470 British casualties. Of these, 19,240 were killed, most during the opening assault. These devastating numbers indicate the scale of death and injury caused by the First World War. All such statistics represent individuals who, in the words of Canadian medical officer John McCrae, ‘short days ago… felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved’. As We Were sets out to tell their stories.
The inspiration for As We Were came from Robert Cottrell, editor of the online journal The Browser, who, in the summer of 2014, asked David Hargreaves to produce a weekly account of what had happened 100 years before, to mark the centenary of the First World War. I became the researcher and David wrote the essays, which were published initially on The Browser’s site and then at www.centuryjournal.com.
Denne historien er fra August 4, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 4, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
